Saturday, February 27, 2010

SO while in NYC...I wanted to meet up with some of the NYC designers I knew and those who I'd seen and had yet to 'see' in person. So I contacted Sister Jennah from Al-Mujalbaba, Sister Najmah from Najm Designs, Sister Fawziyyah from Al-Musa Wear/House of Gems and Sister Saundra from Urban Hijab to meet with us in Brooklyn for a talk about clothes and beauty. They ALL came, masha~allah.

Al-Mujalbaba

Sister Jennah talking about Al Mujalbaba

First up was Sister Jennah from Al-Mujalbaba. She talked about how long she had been in business and how she wanted to help sister become more modest. Have you seen her designs? LOVE THEM. I get all my hijabs from her (for you hijab wantabe thieves). She picks fabrics that are washable, wear great and look GOOD!! We found out from her husband that prop designers from NBC's 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' come to their store for prayer rugs and Qurans. They even had an 11 year old who took his shahada come in to pick up clothes.

Najmah discussing her love of fabrics and the philosophy behind her line. She is a sister on the move.

Next up was Najmah Abraham from NAJM Designs/ the NAJM Network. Sister Najmah really explained to the group about how she picks out her fabric. That for her and her fashions they have to be functional as well as affordable. That LOVELY she is showing us above is a jersey knit tiered dress. OK I sooo want that. EVERYONE wanted that.

Sister Najmah is an inspiration!! She inspires modesty. She's going to be at my MIL's fashion show next month. Can't wait to see the goodies she brings.

This dress is HOT. Any woman can wear it: on a field trip with the kids, to the grocery store, throw on some heels you can take it out to dinner with the girls, your spousal unit, even DANCING..lol.

Najm Designs

Najm designs is more than clothes...its a MOVEMENT in art.

Najla came and ripped it up for us. Soooo talented. Masha~allah

Our intermission was led by sister Najla Muhammad from NJ. She's a poet and she's brilliant!! So young, so beautiful, so talented..may Allah(swt) reward her in all her endeavors. She ROCKED it..FYI.

Urban Hijab

Next up was Sister Saundra from Urban Hijab. We learned at Friday night's dinner that she USE to be a scientist. But her increase in Deen led her away from that..and she started providing clothes for sisters. Masha~allah, she has some very nice high quality clothing. It was great to meet her, see and touch her designs. Umm Aminah purchased on outfit or two. Praying for a lot more to come from sister Saundra.

Urban hijab....samples. I loved them.

Sister Nadeerah brought us accessories. What is a hijabi without her hijab stick pins!!!

Fawziyyah with Al-Musa Wear. A young and fun designer from Harlem.

Last but NOT least was Sister Fawziyyah of Al-Musa Wear/House of Gems. She's a wife and mom that has LOTS of style. She's been making clothes with lots of flavor for years. Ladies in NYC know her and of her. Insha~allah she will continued to be blessed with much more success.

Her style is young, fun and modest. Just the thing the UMMAH needs to help younger sister's realize that modesty is more beautiful and pleasing to Allah(swt).

Al-Musa Wear

Umm Aminah, Fawziyyah, Najmah Umm Amirah and Dynamic Radiance

Umm Aminah, Najla, Umm Amirah and Dynamic Radiance, wow what a night.

What a NIGHT!! We were exhausted but it was a fun night. Can't wait to go back and do it AGAIN!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

E.L.F. is doing it again...pulling us in to BUY stuff. Well the studio line is actually decent. I love the brushes. So...I guess this is my opportunity to get some studio supplies. You can never have too many packs of make up remover at $1.50 a pop!! I'm also going to pick up the eyebrow gel, a kabuki brush and a angled liner brush.

What are YOU lemming from the E.L.F Studio sale?

Or in general...what are you lemming? Body products, Make up, Hair ...I'd love to see what you want to pick up...sooner, or later.

Monday, February 22, 2010

It is time to sit down and talk about the BU NYC State of Mind trip. Boy...did we have a GREAT time in NYC. Will ALL the planning and working to make sure things turned out right...it DID. Although it wasn't a large crowd each time, it was good enough. We met a lot of lovely sisters and some great new connections in NYC. Insha~allah we'll be back for another BU adventure.

So I know your like, umm excuse me- where are the pictures? Well Here they are. There are too many to only have ONE post on NYC. I mean MoMA, the wax museum and the Designer's Delight....that's a LOT. So the first break down will include pics from MoMA and Time Square.

When we first got to NYC we went to Target Free Friday's at the MoMA. I'd never been there but it was SOOO nice. FREE IS GOOD!! lol. Art is beauty..and I took lots of pics. The wax museum was so fun....a time to relax and let loose.

Free is no JOKE. This was the line to get in.

MoMA is just a pretty place period.

I'm not too into Tim Burton..he's scary

Great question

Famous pic

Monet's Water Lily, Soooo pretty

Our stop in Brooklyn

What is a trip to NYC without hanging out in TIME SQUARE!!

Taking pictures on a phone...the usual.

Umm Amirah in Time Square

Umm Aminah Honest..iPhoning.

We did make our way to the MAC pro shop in NYC. Now I heard that it was tucked away from the business of NYC on YouTube...and its TRUE. MAC pro is on a side street in an unsuspecting building. As you can see Umm Aminah Honest was in her element in the MAC pro shop.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Salaams and Salations Beauties, It is another installment of 'Beauty on the Outside'. Now we're featuring Najm Designs. I have LOVED Najm Designs for YEARS. For those who live in the Maryland and KNOW about the Sister's conference here, you've seen her prints and grafics. My girls and I have 3 of her bags. With out further typing... I present you with NAJM Designs.

BU: What's the philosophy behind NAJM*?(meaning star, also the 53rd Surah in Qur'an)

NJ: My slogan is "Design With Purpose". The concept here is even our dress is a form of worship and serves a purpose for us as women so it should mean something. I design practical, comfortable clothing. I also design a graphic line that expresses the pride and ideals of the muslimah ummah as a whole.

BU: Have you always had an eye for fashion?

ND:I have always been an artistic soul, mashaAllah. I was in the Arts Honors Society in HS and also performed my poetry at various events. I knew I wanted to have a creative career and use my talents. Allah blessed me to take my shahadah, and I learned about human images being haram. At the same time becoming a hijabi and did not like the products available in my local stores. I realized my purpose, and enrolled in college and majored in Fashion Design with a goal of bringing stylish islamic clothing to my sisters.

BU: What drives you to bring modest affordable fashions to American sisters?

ND: My drive comes from only Allah(swt)! He's blessed me with the creative talent to come up with these ideas and put them out there. Also I feed off the energy of my muslimah sisters. We have all experienced the discrimination and stereotypes that are attached to muslimahs and hijabis. I wanted to develop a way to speak out against it without even opening your mouth. As one customer said "just talk to the bag!". Sisters have personally thanked me and told me my bags have "broke the ice" among non-muslim co-workers and family members, who just didn't know they felt so much passion about wearing hijab. They thought it was a forced decision and that there was no way they voluntarily enjoyed wearing hijab.

BU: What is your definition of beauty?

ND: My definition of beauty is being pleasing in mind, body, and soul. To be truly beautiful all 3 must be in place. I also want to note that I meet beautiful sisters regularly that wear a variety of displeasing clothing(ie. too tight, wrinkled, stained or ripped). It is absolutely possible to obey Allah and be modest, as well as being conscience that our outer appearances are a dawah to other people. Be proud of who you are as a person, be proud of your commitment to Allah as a Hijabi, be proud to be a role model to your daughters and be proud of the status Allah have given you in our ummah! There is no excuse to have low self-esteem and walk around looking like a hot mess! You don't have to be the "designer diva" muslimah type,lol it's not about that. And if you need help finding your islamic fashion identity there are designers out there like me, who are passionate about what we do and have the expertise to help you look and feel beautiful.

You can also put my contact info: najmdesigns@gmail.com, coming soon:www.najmdesigns.com

JazakAllah khair for interviewing me and including me. Please let me know when it comes out. Great to see you as usual, talk to you soon, inshaAllah.

NAJMAH*

Beautiful Ummah thanks Sister Najmah for the interview. We also thank her for comming out to our 'Designer's Delight' in NYC a couple of weeks ago. Insha~allah we'll see her soon.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Beautiful Ummah is ONE year old!! Can't believe it. Can't believe we've had some nice events, great subscribers and learned alot of the beauty blogging community.

Soooo in celebration of our 1st year...we are having a contest. It is open till the end of the month. The prices will be broken up into LOCAL winners (in the D/M/V) and Non LOCAL(mailing) winners. The rules are as followed: Create a beauty look. Take 3 pictures: before, during, after. Submit the pics a long with a little something about YOU to me (Umm Amirah) at ummamirah[at]beautifulummah[dot]com. Evening looks, everyday looks, whatever!!!

There will be 3 prize. Entries will be posted on this blog (just the last pic). Entries will be judged by all Beautiful Ummah contributors.

Don't forget about our Poetry Event at RJ Cafe in Maryland. If you live in between DC and Baltimore, we hope to see you there. Also there is that Artizara promo during this month...go go and enjoy.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Salaams Beauties! Baking soda is one of the hardest working beauty essentials EVER! I love it as a facial exfoliant and I've also been using it as a pre tooth paste teeth cleanser. There are a million and 1 uses for baking soda and you can pick up a box for under a buck!

To quote the Domestic Diva Martha Stewart: Baking soda, it's a good thing.

About Me

All ideas expressed in this blog are those of the contributors. There is no ONE way to achieve outer beauty. It initially comes from Allah(swt) and we have created this spot to help you nurture that beauty.